Robert William Hanmer Everett (29 May 1901 – 26 January 1942) was a British

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

and a Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve pilot during the Second World War. In 1929, he won the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

on Gregalach. In 1941, as a

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...

pilot, he achieved the first "kill" by a rocket-launched fighter, shooting down a long-range

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', also known as ''Kurier'' to the Allies ( English: Courier), was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner. A Japanese request for a long-range mariti ...

over the Atlantic. For this hazardous success, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO). Knowledge of Everett's life is fragmentary, with just a few notable events.

Early life

Everett was born to on 29 May 1901 in

Tenterfield, New South Wales Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. At the , Tenterfield had a population of 4,066. Tenterfield's proximity to many regional centres and its position on the route between Sydney and Brisbane led to its development as a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. His parents were Lt. Colonel William Frank Everett and Charlotte Everett of Chelsea. In 1915 he attended the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course last ...

, then served for two years as a

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

in the Royal Navy during World War 1. After the war, he working as a farmer in South Africa, before moving to the United Kingdom in 1927 to become a

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

jockey. In 1929, he rode "Gregalach" in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. I ...

after the jockey engaged to ride him was injured in a fall. The horse was marked down by bookmakers as a 100-1 outsider, yet he won, beating the favourite, " Easter Hero", by six lengths. This race had the largest Grand National field ever and Everett was praised for his horsemanship over heavy ground. Later, in 1934, he won the

Irish Grand National The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5,834 ...

Fairyhouse Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, off the N3. It hosted its first race in 1848 and since 1870 has been the home of ...

, this time on "Poolgowran". At the same time, Everett had become an amateur pilot and jointly owned, with his father, a

De Havilland Puss Moth The de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth is a British three-seater high-wing monoplane aeroplane designed and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company between 1929 and 1933. It flew at a speed approaching 124 mph (200 km/h), making it o ...

, a relatively high-performance aircraft of its day. In 1934, with another Australian,

Jimmy Melrose Charles James Melrose (13 September 1913 – 5 July 1936) was an Australian aviator who held a number of flying records, and was the youngest and only solo flier to finish the Melbourne (MacRobertson) Centenary Air Race in 1934. History Jimmy ...

, he entered the MacRobertson Air Race (or the Melbourne Centenary Air Race) to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

from Mildenhall, in England. This was successfully completed in 120 flying hours, despite landing at Darwin with empty fuel tanks.

Service career

Hawker Hurricane launched from CAM ship c1941

Everett joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

and

in October 1940 and served with

760 Naval Air Squadron 760 Naval Air Squadron (760 NAS) is a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The squadron first formed on 1 April 1940 as No.1 Fleet Fighter Pool with a variety of aircraft types before standardising in 1941 on the Sea Hurricane ...

at HMS ''Heron'',

Yeovilton Yeovilton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, east of Ilchester and north of Yeovil, in South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, e ...

. Later he volunteered for

804 Naval Air Squadron 804 Naval Air Squadron (804 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy, formed in November 1939 from part of 769 NAS Sea Gladiators which had been detached to RNAS Hatston. The squadron was merged into 800 NAS in June 1944 and subsequently ...

, which for a time supplied pilots for

fighter catapult ship Fighter catapult ships also known as Catapult Armed Ships were an attempt by the Royal Navy to provide air cover at sea. Five ships were acquired and commissioned as Naval vessels early in the Second World War, and these were used to accompany con ...

s and CAM ships. While he was on HMS ''Maplin'', a ''Condor'' was sighted on 1 August 1941 and Everett's

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

was launched. After a hard fight, the ''Condor'' was shot down with Everett's last shots ("''By this time I had reached the starboard bow and three machine guns opened up as well as the forward cannon. I did a quick turn to port and opened up just abaft the beam I fired five second burst at this range and my guns were empty''"). He managed to

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

near to HMS ''Wanderer'' which was escorting the nearby convoy, SL.81. Everett was awarded the DSO for this action.

Death

Everett died on active service on 26 January 1942. He was flying a Hurricane from Belfast to Abingdon when it came down in shallow water close to the beach at

Llanddona Llanddona (; ); ) is a village and community noted for its sandy beach in the Welsh county of Anglesey. Located between Benllech and Beaumaris, it is popular as a holiday destination, particularly for families. Llanddona has no shops; however ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, Wales. Witnesses reported the aircraft seemed to be suffering from engine problems. The aircraft wreck was soon recovered but the cockpit was empty. Everett's body was washed ashore several months later; a post-mortem revealed he had drowned.Barker (2019},''pp. 54-55'' He is buried close to the scene of the crash, in

St Dona's Church, Llanddona St Dona's Church, Llanddona (; )) is a small 19th-century parish church in the village of Llanddona, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church on this site was built in 610. The present building on the site dates from 1873, and was designed b ...

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Robert 1901 births 1942 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Fleet Air Arm aviators Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United Kingdom People from New England (New South Wales) Australian jockeys Military personnel from New South Wales Sportsmen from New South Wales